About one-third of all U.S. broadband households are now interested in connected set-top boxes, according to Parks Associates. The market research company says that this is good news for service providers, which have this device at the core of their current service strategies.

Parks Associates is hosting a Cable Show lunch session – entitled “Engaging the Consumer: Opportunities and Challenges in the Evolution of Television” and sponsored by Macrovision – on April 2 at 12:45 p.m. in Room 152 of the Washington Convention Center.

Panelists will address challenges in building ARPU and will discuss best strategies for developing innovative television services that will interest consumers and lower churn. Panelists include Bob Benya of Time Warner Cable, Jeff Bonin of Alticast, Richard Bullwinkle of Macrovision, David Grubb of Motorola and Steve Necessary of Cox.

“Up to 7 percent of broadband households are willing to pay $3-$6 more per month for a connected STB,” said Jayant Dasari, an analyst with Parks Associates and session moderator. “They want to stream music, view photos and watch Web video through their television, and carriers can capture that consumer interest by leveraging the set-top to deploy these services.”